New deputy chief constable for West Yorkshire Police

Chief Constable John Robins QPM DL announced Mr Khan’s appointment following a national selection and interview process.

Mr Khan, who was previously an assistant chief constable in the force, takes over in the role from Catherine Hankinson QPM, who recently retired.

Mr Robins said: “I am delighted to be able to announce the appointment of Deputy Chief Constable Osman Khan. Osman has served the public of West Yorkshire for more than 25 years in a variety of roles across the county.  He has a thorough understanding of the needs of our communities and understands the pressures on police officers and staff. His appointment also provides continuity and stability in our continued improvement of policing across West Yorkshire.

“I would like to pay tribute to our former deputy chief constable Catherine Hankinson QPM. Catherine has been an outstanding leader, providing drive and commitment to our recent force improvements. She will be hugely missed by all who worked with her.  I wish her the very best in her well-earned retirement after thirty years in policing.”

Mr Khan, who most recently held the People and Standards portfolio for the force’s chief officer team, said: “I am extremely proud to have been appointed as the new deputy chief constable of West Yorkshire Police.

“I will continue to drive the force forward by supporting the efforts of our hard-working officers and staff, as well as working closely with partners and listening to communities to ensure we deliver the best policing service we can to the people of West Yorkshire.”

Mr Khan joined West Yorkshire Police as a constable in 2000, beginning his policing career with Eccleshill, before moving to Bradford South Division in 2004, where he was promoted to sergeant and then inspector.

He then moved to North East Leeds as a detective inspector and became a detective chief inspector in 2011, before serving the Professional Standards Directorate (PSD) and Kirklees District as a detective superintendent.

He was promoted to detective chief superintendent in 2018 and returned to PSD as its head before becoming the District Commander for Bradford in 2019 and T/assistant chief constable a year later, where he held the portfolios for Specialist and Regional Crime, as well as Local Policing and Safeguarding.

He is a Specialist Strategic Firearms Commander, Gold Public Order Public Safety Commander and multi-agency Incident Commander. He is a trained assessor, coach and mentor and regularly assists with developing other officers and staff across the Force, which gives him the greatest joy of his policing career.

He received The King’s Police Medal as part of the New Year Honours 2025; an honour that he is immensely proud of and humbled by.